Ward, CO
How exposed is Ward to wildfire?
USFS scores Ward at the 99th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 107 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Ward at the 98th percentile, close to its 99th-percentile risk score.
Ward's building exposure, zone by zone
56.1% of Ward's 107 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 60 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 43.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Ward against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Ward's 99th national percentile and its 94th percentile inside Colorado, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ward ranks 443 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,724 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 32 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
Ward and the insurance market
Ward's very high rating (99th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Ward (56.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Ward's figures come from
Ward's 99th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ward's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.